I didn't go to my prom. Why not? To paraphrase a nursery rhyme, "for the want of a car, the prom was lost".
In my high school, in order to date, a guy absolutely, non-negotiably, had to have a car. Without a car, his chance of getting a date was zero, plain and simple. I even had one girl like me (!), as shocking as that seemed. She even agreed to go on a date with me; but when I told her I didn't have a car, she broke the date. Now, if she didn't date me, she wouldn't get to know me romantically, which meant she wouldn't feel comfortable going to the prom with me. (Understandable, I guess.) So as soon as she broke the date, I pretty much knew at that point that she will not be going to the prom with me. And there wasn't enough time to find another date, either.
Maybe it was for the best. The estimated cost of going to the prom (for the guy) at my high school was $500. And unlike girls, guys don't even have the benefit of the Glass Slipper Project, which provided gently used prom dresses for free. In other words, no free tuxedos for guys, and the tux rentals run up to $150, plus limo rental, plus dinner for two, plus corsage for his date. For comparison, a 7-day all-inclusive resort vacation during the same year cost $800 plus incidentals.
Needless to say, I felt compelled to "redeem myself" by finding a date for the school dance my freshman year of college. I found a date. She didn't care about me not having a car. We even took the city bus to downtown. But it was the most awkward date in my entire life.